Daily Debate: Was Spirit Tracks a Good Zelda Title?
Posted on July 10 2018 by Kat Vadam
Spirit Tracks is a fairly dividing game; it tends to be liked or hated, and for understandable reasons. To name just a few major examples, the controls were DS-strange, Hyrule was completely new, we saw fewer characters we were familiar with, and…well…Link drove a train. A train. The strangest aspect of them all. So, in the end, was Spirit Tracks a good addition to the Zelda universe?
Oh, my. This debate can only end well.
The thought spawned during a conversation between Zelda Dungeon staff on whether or not the game was good. I argued that, yes, the game was good. It was fun, cute, and, once I got used to the controls and the changes made, I found that I really enjoyed playing it. Yet, did that make it a good Zelda game? Not necessarily. And now, I am stuck in my own answer. On one hand, it could be, because it followed the basic premise of good versus evil, starring our favorite hero and princess. Yet, then I thought, is that actually what Zelda is about? Or are there enough elements of the universe that the game completely changed or disregarded to make it a better stand-alone title without the name Zelda?
So, now I turn to you, dear readers. What do you think? Was Spirit Tracks a good Zelda title? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Kat Vadam is a mother of one, proud cat mom, and wife to someone far nerdier than she could ever hope to be. She also works by day as an analyst, writer, and editor. Here at Zelda Dungeon, she is the Head of Social Media and a copy editor, though she still enjoys occasionally writing things. Someday, she plans on giving up all her worldly possessions to move to the forest and become best friends with a korok. Were it so easy.
